Sea otters, kelp forests, and the extinction of Steller’s sea cow
Open accessAbstract
Significance: Human-caused extinctions are normally thought to result from overexploitation or habitat alteration. A third possible cause of extinction is the loss of interactions associated with keystone species. Using recent and historical information on sea otters and kelp forests, we show that the extinction of Steller's sea cow from the Commander Islands in the mid-1700s would have been a nearly inevitable consequence of the overhunting of sea otters, which occurred a decade earlier.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Extinction cascades occur frequently, as shown by the classic case of Steller's sea cow.
“Extinction cascades, a series of extinctions triggered by the disappearance of a keystone species in an ecosystem, occur frequently, as shown by the classic case of Steller’s sea cow (47).”
From Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction (2020) · cites this paper as [47]
Cites
Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers
Jones, C. G., Lawton, J. H., & Shachak, M. (1994) · Oikos · doi:10.2307/3545850 · Cited by 5,105 · see citing works
Defaunation in the Anthropocene
Dirzo, R., Young, H. S., Galetti, M., Ceballos, G., Isaac, N. J. B., & Collen, B. (2014) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1251817 · Cited by 4,305 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Nonetheless, reliance of some species on the direct or indirect effects of others in complex natural communities mean that a loss of one species may have led to losses of others (18, 19).”
BackgroundOrganisms as Ecosystem Engineers
Jones, C. G., Lawton, J. H., & Shachak, M. (1994) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-4018-1_14 · Cited by 4,294 · see citing works
Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth
Estes, J. A., Terborgh, J., Brashares, J. S., Power, M. E., Berger, J., Bond, W. J., Carpenter, S. R., Essington, T. E., Holt, R. D., Jackson, J. B. C., et al. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1205106 · Cited by 4,087 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Other megafauna, especially large predators and megaherbivores, have comparably important ecological influences to those of sea otters on their associated ecosystems (15, 54, 55).”
BackgroundSelf-citationStatus and Ecological Effects of the World’s Largest Carnivores
Ripple, W. J., Estes, J. A., Beschta, R. L., Wilmers, C. C., Ritchie, E. G., Hebblewhite, M., Berger, J., Elmhagen, B., Letnic, M., Nelson, M. P., et al. (2014) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1241484 · Cited by 3,667 · see citing works
Self-citationChallenges in the Quest for Keystones
Power, M. E., Tilman, D., Estes, J. A., Menge, B. A., Bond, W. J., Mills, L. S., Daily, G., Castilla, J. C., Lubchenco, J., & Paine, R. T. (1996) · BioScience · doi:10.2307/1312990 · Cited by 2,018 · see citing works
Self-citationKelp forest ecosystems: biodiversity, stability, resilience and future
Steneck, R. S., Graham, M. H., Bourque, B. J., Corbett, D., Erlandson, J. M., Estes, J. A., & Tegner, M. J. (2002) · Environmental Conservation · doi:10.1017/s0376892902000322 · Cited by 1,978 · see citing works
Self-citationA note on trophic complexity and community stability.
Paine, R. T. (1969) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/282586 · Cited by 1,796 · see citing works
Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system
Crooks, K. R., & Soulé, M. E. (1999) · Nature · doi:10.1038/23028 · Cited by 1,721 · see citing works
Killer Whale Predation on Sea Otters Linking Oceanic and Nearshore Ecosystems
Estes, J. A., Tinker, M. T., Williams, T. M., & Doak, D. F. (1998) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.282.5388.473 · Cited by 1,263 · see citing works
Self-citationSea Otters: Their Role in Structuring Nearshore Communities
Estes, J. A., & Palmisano, J. F. (1974) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.185.4156.1058 · Cited by 1,187 · see citing works
Self-citationAssessing the Causes of Late Pleistocene Extinctions on the Continents
Barnosky, A. D., Koch, P. L., Feranec, R. S., Wing, S. L., & Shabel, A. B. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1101476 · Cited by 1,084 · see citing works
Late Quaternary Extinctions: State of the Debate
Koch, P. L., & Barnosky, A. D. (2006) · Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics · doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.011802.132415 · Cited by 885 · see citing works
Sea Otters and Kelp Forests in Alaska: Generality and Variation in a Community Ecological Paradigm
Estes, J. A., & Duggins, D. O. (1995) · Ecological Monographs · doi:10.2307/2937159 · Cited by 798 · see citing works
Self-citationMagnification of Secondary Production by Kelp Detritus in Coastal Marine Ecosystems
Duggins, D. O., Simenstad, C., & Estes, J. A. (1989) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.245.4914.170 · Cited by 709 · see citing works
Self-citationSpecies Coextinctions and the Biodiversity Crisis
Koh, L. P., Dunn, R. R., Sodhi, N. S., Colwell, R. K., Proctor, H. C., & Smith, V. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1101101 · Cited by 651 · see citing works
Trophic cascades: predators, prey, and the changing dynamics of nature
(2010) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.48-1478 · Cited by 571 · see citing works
A Multispecies Overkill Simulation of the End-Pleistocene Megafaunal Mass Extinction
Alroy, J. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1059342 · Cited by 537 · see citing works
Steppe-Tundra Transition: A Herbivore-Driven Biome Shift at the End of the Pleistocene
Zimov, S. A., Чупрынин, В. И., Oreshko, A. P., Chapin, F. S., Reynolds, J. F., & Chapin, M. C. (1995) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/285824 · Cited by 481 · see citing works
Pleistocene Extinctions: The Search for a Cause
MacConaill, M. A., Martin, P. S., & Wright, H. E. (1968) · Man · doi:10.2307/2798599 · Cited by 456 · see citing works
The future eaters : an ecological history of the Australasian lands and people
Flannery, T. (2005) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 454 · see citing works
Ecological Effectiveness: Conservation Goals for Interactive Species
Soulé, M. E., Estes, J. A., Berger, J., & del Rio, C. M. (2003) · Conservation Biology · doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01599.x · Cited by 441 · see citing works
Self-citationKenyon, K. W. (1969) · University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) · Cited by 382 · see citing works
Fifty millennia of catastrophic extinctions after human contact
BURNEY, D., & FLANNERY, T. (2005) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2005.04.022 · Cited by 379 · see citing works
The future eaters: An ecological history of the Australasian lands and people
Director, R. C. P. A. (1996) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/0921-8009(96)82431-1 · Cited by 377 · see citing works
Aleuts, Sea Otters, and Alternate Stable-State Communities
Simenstad, C. A., Estes, J. A., & Kenyon, K. W. (1978) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.200.4340.403 · Cited by 374 · see citing works
Self-citation(2022) · University of Arizona Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/j.ctv264f91j · Cited by 360 · see citing works
Berger, J., Stacey, P., Bellis, L., & Johnson, M. P. (2001) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[0947:amppig]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 340 · see citing works
Proceedings of the Colloquium on Conservation Problems in Antarctica
Parker, B. C. (1972) · Cited by 318 · see citing works
Differentiating aquatic mammal habitat and foraging ecology with stable isotopes in tooth enamel
Clementz, M. T., & Koch, P. L. (2001) · Oecologia · doi:10.1007/s004420100745 · Cited by 297 · see citing works
The Lost World of the Moa: Prehistoric Life of New Zealand
Worthy, T. H., Holdaway, R. N., & Morris, R. G. (2002) · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Natural Die‐Offs of Large Mammals: Implications for Conservation
Young, T. P. (1994) · Conservation Biology · doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08020410.x · Cited by 284 · see citing works
The lost world of the moa: prehistoric life of New Zealand
(2003) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.40-3418 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
Linking a cougar decline, trophic cascade, and catastrophic regime shift in Zion National Park
Ripple, W. J., & Beschta, R. L. (2006) · Biological Conservation · doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2006.07.002 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Wilmers, C. C., Estes, J. A., Edwards, M., Laidre, K. L., & Konar, B. H. (2012) · Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment · doi:10.1890/110176 · Cited by 211 · see citing works
Self-citationTHE STABILITY OF BOUNDARY REGIONS BETWEEN KELP BEDS AND DEFORESTED AREAS
Konar, B. H., & Estes, J. A. (2003) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2003)084[0174:tsobrb]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Self-citationPredation, herbivory, and kelp evolution
Estes, J. A., & Steinberg, P. D. (1988) · Paleobiology · doi:10.1017/s0094837300011775 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Self-citationResponse of dugongs to large-scale loss of seagrass from Hervey Bay, Queensland Australia
Preen, A. R., & Marsh, H. (1995) · Wildlife Research · doi:10.1071/wr9950507 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Watson, J. C., & Estes, J. A. (2011) · Ecological Monographs · doi:10.1890/10-0262.1 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Self-citationSirenian evolution in the North Pacific Ocean
Domning, D. P. (1978) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Isotopic records from early whales and sea cows: contrasting patterns of ecological transition
Clementz, M. T., Goswami, A., Gingerich, P. D., & Koch, P. L. (2006) · Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology · doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[355:irfewa]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Berger, J., Stacey, P., Bellis, L., & Johnson, M. P. (2001) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.2307/3061004 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Heinsohn, R., Lacy, R. C., Lindenmayer, D. B., et al. (2004) · Animal Conservation · doi:10.1017/s1367943004001593 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Trophic Cascades: Predators, Prey and the Changing Dynamics of Nature
Kennedy, M. (2012) · Austral Ecology · doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2012.02361.x · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Age and Diet of Fossil California Condors in Grand Canyon, Arizona
Emslie, S. D. (1987) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.237.4816.768 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Inter-decadal patterns of population and dietary change in sea otters at Amchitka Island, Alaska
Watt, J., Siniff, D. B., & Estes, J. A. (2000) · Oecologia · doi:10.1007/s004420000373 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationEstes, J. A., Tinker, M. T., & Bodkin, J. L. (2010) · Conservation Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01428.x · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Self-citationModelling the extinction of Steller's sea cow
Turvey, S. T., & Risley, C. L. (2005) · Biology Letters · doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0415 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
COMPETITION, PREDATION, AND THE EVOLUTION AND EXTINCTION OF STELLER'S SEA COW, HYDRODAMALIS GIGAS
Anderson, P. K. (1995) · Marine Mammal Science · doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.1995.tb00294.x · Cited by 49 · see citing works
CONTINUING SEA OTTER POPULATION DECLINES IN THE ALEUTIAN ARCHIPELAGO
Estes, J. A., Tinker, M. T., Doroff, A. M., et al. (2005) · Marine Mammal Science · doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2005.tb01218.x · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Self-citationEXTRACTING TIME FROM PHYLOGENIES: POSITIVE INTERPLAY BETWEEN FOSSIL AND GENETIC DATA
Conroy, C. J., & van Tuinen, M. (2003) · Journal of Mammalogy · doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2003)084 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Conditions for caribou persistence in the wolf-elk-caribou systems of the Canadian Rockies
Hebblewhite, M., Whittington, J., Bradley, M. P., Skinner, G., Dibb, A., & White, C. A. (2007) · Rangifer · doi:10.7557/2.27.4.322 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
How the Great Northern Sea-Cow (Rytina) Became Exterminated
Stejneger, L. (1887) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/274607 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
A Life-History Approach to the Late Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction
Zuo, W., Smith, F. A., & Charnov, E. L. (2013) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/671995 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
The pattern of evolution in Pleistocene human brain size.
Lee, S.-H., & Wolpoff, M. H. (2003) · Paleobiology · doi:10.1017/s0094837300018054 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Kvitek, R. G., Iampietro, P. J., & Bowlby, C. E. (1998) · Marine Mammal Science · doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.1998.tb00776.x · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Can restoring wolves aid in lynx recovery?
Ripple, W. J., Wirsing, A. J., Beschta, R. L., et al. (2011) · Wildlife Society Bulletin · doi:10.1002/wsb.59 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
STELLER'S SEA COW IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
Domning, D. P., Thomason, J. R., & Corbett, D. G. (2007) · Marine Mammal Science · doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00153.x · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Flannery, T. F. (1999) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.283.5399.182 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Balter, M. (2012) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.335.6065.158 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction
Ceballos, G., Ehrlich, P. R., & Raven, P. H. (2020) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1922686117 · Cited by 926 · see citing works
“Extinction cascades, a series of extinctions triggered by the disappearance of a keystone species in an ecosystem, occur frequently, as shown by the classic case of Steller’s sea cow (47).”
Patterns, Causes, and Consequences of Anthropocene Defaunation
Young, H. S., McCauley, D. J., Galetti, M., & Dirzo, R. (2016) · Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics · doi:10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054142 · Cited by 523 · see citing works
- Authors
- Estes, J. A., Burdin, A., & Doak, D. F.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
- Russian Academy of Sciences (RU)
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2015-10-26
- Volume
- 113
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 880-885
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC4743786
- OpenAlex
- W1860501321
- Cited by
- 91
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 5.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Marine animal studies overview
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Ecology and biodiversity studies
- Keywords
- Steller's sea cow, Hydrodamalis gigas, sea otter, kelp forests, Pleistocene extinction, coextinction, keystone species, trophic cascades, megaherbivores, Commander Islands, habitat loss
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Feeding Behavior, Humans, Human Activities, Models, Biological, Otters, Pacific Ocean, Population Density, Sea Urchins, Ecosystem, Dugong, Kelp, History, 18th Century, Extinction, Biological, Climate Change, Animal Distribution, Plant Dispersal, Human Migration
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
